


"Nobody calls it 'Beantown'"

by Rex501st



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Adorkable, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Boston, F/F, Fluff, Mutual Pining, Nurse Jess, Oh My God, Poe and Finn are too good, Reyva, Skype friends, Techie Rey, cinnamon rolls everywhere, i'll add more tags as this goes, jeditestor, nerds, so much cheese, these two deserve happiness
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-19
Updated: 2017-02-03
Packaged: 2018-06-09 11:12:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6903517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rex501st/pseuds/Rex501st
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jess is nurse. Rey is a tech developer. They don't know each other yet, but they both love coffee.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Monday in May

**Author's Note:**

> Here's the Boston Jess/Rey Coffeeshop AU no one actually asked for. 
> 
> WHOOPS.
> 
> Crossover fic with tspofnutmeg's "Is it Really an Emerald City?" Check her's out for Poe/Finn feels!

It was another wonderful spring Monday morning in the city. May in Boston was enigma. It was just as liable to get to 90 degrees one day and be snowing the next day. Jess has lived here her whole life so this she was accustomed to. One never had “winter” and “summer” clothes for this reason so it cut down on shopping which was very good for her. Jess has sort of an “impulse” buying problem. You can see that when you walk into her apartment and see all of the un-framed art prints and and stack of books in the corner that have nowhere to go. Working in the city did have it’s benefits, especially as a nurse when most weeks you only worked 4 10-hour shifts instead of the normal 5 8-hours a day, which also suited Jess. Besides doing nothing for fun, being able to have 3 days off a week gave her time to enjoy her pursuits. Like reading multiple Boston sports blogs and listening to hockey podcasts in an effort to cut down her expected lifespan.  

 

Another good thing about working in the medical-field nexus that was Boston was that it allowed for her to become a regular at this coffee shop down by Tufts where she worked. The best thing about this time of year, besides the weather, was that the college kids were finally gone. Seniors have graduated and the rest of the myriad of school’s populations have all gone home for the summer. This greatly cut down on the wait times at the shop in the mornings which meant Jess could sleep in an extra 30 minutes. 

 

The barista was younger than Jess, that much she knew, besides just forming this singular relationship off of a coffee order. “The usual?”  

 

“Unless you find a way to inject this right into my bloodstream, then yes, the usual.” 

 

Jess had always had this dry and to-the-point sort of sense of humor. It served her well to this point in life. Why stop now?

 

Jess’ “usual” order was nothing special really. A large hot, French Vanilla with milk and two splenda. Enough to get her in the mood to be around people in the morning without wanting to hit them for bothering her. She’s been coming to this one coffee shop on the way to the hospital for almost a year now. They brew some good stuff, more quality than the local Dunks or Starbucks. Over the past few months, Jess had been noticing this one woman had been always at the shop the same time she was. Sometimes a person or two in front of her in line, sometimes a person or two behind her. Did she work at the hospital too? Was she a student at one of the colleges? She looks a little too old to have not graduated yet. Jess knew she would have to do some digging. This girl might be the cutest person she’s ever seen exist in this mortal realm.

* * *

 

Rey has been a Boston resident for a few months now. Getting a job at a tech company half-way across the country wasn’t something she ever thought she would be doing but sometimes opportunities like this are once-in-a-lifetime chances. She got so many questions from people about moving to the city in the middle of February, especially when she told them she was coming from Arizona.”Are you serious?” was the response of most of her new coworkers upon learning this fact. “You could’ve picked literally any other time of the year to come, and you decided February, in the dead of Winter? You’re braver than I thought.” 

Getting accustomed to the city took some work. Just trying to find your way around without getting lost was almost like a job on it’s own (not to mention the public transportation system is an abomination). Luckily she lived in a nice area down by Fenway where mostly anything she needed was within walking distance. Working in the tech industry did have it’s perks, namely that it paid quite well so she didn’t have to worry about the unusually expensive Trader Joe’s down the street. 

 

Coming during the middle of winter wasn’t all bad since it seemed mostly everyone had a pattern for what they did to make it through the season. Get up, go to work, come home from work and hope the sun comes out again the next day. 

 

Miraculously Rey made it through the winter with only a few storms hitting the city. “This was a good one?” she asked a coworker after the last storm dropped a foot of snow down overnight. “You should consider yourself luckily. We got over 100 inches last year. This was nothing.” Luckily spring had sprung (mostly. You can’t trust these weather people). It took until May for Rey to finally feel comfortable in her new surroundings. This little coffee shop on her way to work did a lot to help, too. She had become a pretty regular customer the past few months and started to recognize different employees’ shifts and even other customers schedules based on when she stopped in in the mornings. 

 

There was this one woman she always noticed that was in the shop at the same time in the morning. A person or two ahead of her or a person or two behind depending on how quickly Rey was able to crawl out of bed after waking up. Rey had been subtly playing this game of trying to get the barista to make it known to the other woman that her name was “Rey” by always making sure her orders were complicated enough to be called out loud. It clearly hasn’t worked yet. If there was one thing Rey was, it was persistent.

 

It was a Monday morning in May when Rey was in line behind her when her name was called for coffee. “Jess! Jess!” 

  
“Well then, I guess I can learn her name then,” Rey said to herself smiling ear to ear.


	2. A Million Bucks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey and Jess finally meet. And Proceed to freak the hell out to Finn and Poe over it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to check out tspofnutmeg's fic (http://archiveofourown.org/works/6946465/chapters/15841600) for the Poe/Finn side of this story!

It was the Friday before Memorial Day weekend. Rey has been looking forward to this 3-day weekend for a long, long time. Her work hasn’t been all that stressful as of late but anytime you can get a day off you don’t question it. Thusly, she woke up in a great mood, was out the door early, and made great time making it to Jakku Roasters. Everyone inside seemed just a little more cheery than usual, customers and workers alike. “Must be from the weekend,” she thought. She had remembered a local co-worker telling her a few weeks ago that Memorial Day weekend was the “unofficial” start of summer in Boston. Being from Arizona, Rey had summer 24/7/365. 

 

Wait.

 

There she was.

 

At the end of the line waiting to order. Jess. 

 

“Oh god. Oh god.”

 

Rey slowly made her way into the coffee shop. The shop itself had a quaint feel to it. Hardwood floors, art hung on the walls provided by local artists, coolers for cold drinks over on the left hand wall behind the scattered tables. The ordering counter had an L-shape to it as you walked straight from the door to where you ordered and then around the corner to pick up your drink/pastry/sandwich etc. Rey has never come to the shop on the weekends surprisingly but now that the weather was nice enough the shop had a few tables outside on the sidewalk that allowed for fresh air casual coffee enjoyment.

 

This was it. Rey was going to introduce herself to Jess. She was so nervous. How would Jess react? Would she be nice? What if she didn’t want to talk? Rey shook those thoughts out of her head and steeled herself. “Here we go.” 

 

“D-d-do you work around here?” Rey said worrying Jess didn’t even hear her.

 

Jess slowly swung her head around and her eyes went wide, It was Rey, standing right there. And she looked like she had asked something? “What did you say?” Jess hoped that didn’t come out accusatory.

 

“Oh. I just was wondering if you worked around here,” Rey responded not phased by her growing doubt. “I’ve seen you in here a lot the past few months. I’m Rey”

 

Jess breathed an internal sigh of relief. “Yeah! I’m Jess. I work over at Tufts Medical. What about you?” That was something humans say in conversation, right?

 

“I work down at BlasTech. It can get crazy at times but I enjoy it a lot.”

 

“That’s awesome! I can barely use my laptop for anything besides reading blogs and Netflix so it’s nice to know someone else is good at computers.”

 

“Haha, thanks. I went to school for computer programming back at home. Oh, looks like you’re up.” 

 

It was Jess’ turn to order. She wished that wait in line could’ve lasted forever. After she and Rey had placed their orders, they went around the corner of the counter to wait for their drinks to come out. 

 

“Any plans for the long weekend?” 

 

“Uhm, nothing really exciting. Just catch up on some comic reading probably,” Rey answered with a hint of loneliness to it. 

 

“W-would you want to meet up for a cup of coffee at all?” 

 

Holy shit. Jess can’t believe she just did it. What? 

 

“Uhmmm, yeah, that would be nice.” 

 

Jess felt like she was going to melt where she stood.

 

“O-o-okay! Would it be alright to get your number?”

 

“Sure thing!”

 

The two exchanged numbers, got their drinks and were off to work.

 

“I’ll shoot you a text tomorrow, if that’s okay, of course?” Jess replied as they were exiting the shop. 

 

“That sounds great. Nice to finally meet you!” and Rey was off on her way.

 

Jess was not okay.

 

* * *

 

 

Work seemed to drag on as slow as molasses. Jess needed to get home and Skype with Poe. Luckily nothing crazy happened during her shift besides some middle schoolers coming in from an apparent fight over who got the last chocolate milk from lunch. Finally it was time to go home but she had to wait until Poe got out of work before being able to talk to him. Poe had moved back to Seattle after they graduated to work at the family coffee shop, Dameron Fine Coffee. Jess has had it plenty of times while visiting and good lord Poe was a magician when it came to making the stuff. She hasn’t seen Poe since last fall when he visited when the hockey season started back up. The two of them met while Poe was on the hockey team and Jess got an internship on the athletic training staff. They quickly became friends even though there was a few years age gap since Poe had played juniors and was a 21 year old freshman. 

 

It was coming up on 7:30 in Boston which meant Poe was just getting to his apartment from the shop. Jess was ready to go with her laptop when he logged on. Quickly his cheery face popped up and Jess flashed an extremely large smile.

 

“Hey!! What’re you so happy about?” he remarked with the playful tone he always used with Jess.

 

“I, uh uh, sorta asked her out?”

 

“The one you’ve been obsessed with from the coffee place? What took you so long?”

 

“Shut up! It just happened, I guess. She introduced herself and she works a few streets over at that new app company BlasTech.”

 

“So she's a genius? Maybe she can teach you a thing or two about using your computer.”

 

“Ha ha, very funny. But for real, we’re gonna meet up at the coffee shop this weekend and I’m going to text her tomorrow. I’m nervous. Help.”

 

“Why would you be nervous? You’re the brave one in this friendship. Remember when you snuck us into the bar where the Cup was after the Bruins won?” One thing Poe was pro at was making other people feel better.

 

Jess sighed and nodded in agreement. “Yeah, you’re right. I shouldn’t over think it. How’s your project going?”

 

“Uhh uhh uhh, tonight is all about you, miss.”

 

Jess went to bed that night feeling like a million bucks.

 

* * *

 

 

Rey was distracted all day at work. Her co-workers didn’t seem to mind since almost all of them were just going through the motions as she was. “Everyone must be thinking about the long weekend,” she thought, even though her reason was completely different. She finally introduced herself to Jess. This girl who she had been seeing every day without knowing a thing about her. The girl who she thought was too cute to be living. She texted Finn when she got to the office in the morning knowing he won’t be up yet, being 3-hours behind in Seattle. She heard from him a little before 11, right on time for when he got up usually.

 

Finn: What’s up?

Rey: Can we Skype later!? I have news..

Finn: What kind of news?

Rey: I’ll tell you tonight, gotta go.

Finn: you’re hopeless…

Rey: shut it

 

Work luckily went by not dragging out too long. The managers brought in some beer in the afternoon for everyone to take a break. Rey wasn’t much of a drinker but wasn’t about turn down the free drinks at work. She got out around 5 but still needed to wait about 3 more hours for Finn to get out of work. Might as well go to Chipotle right? 

 

Finally Finn was out of work she learned from his text. She booted up her computer anxiously waiting for him to get online. “What took so long?”

 

“Have you just been sitting here waiting for me to get home?”

 

“No! I got a burrito…” Finn always succeeded to get Rey to blush with his constant endearing tone he used with her.

 

“So what’s this big ‘news’ you have?” he smirked out.

 

“Remember that girl I’ve been telling you about that is always at the coffee shop I go to? Well… she sorta.. asked me out.”

 

“WHAT! Rey, that’s awesome! How did it happen?”

 

“I just started a conversation with her and she asked if I wanted to get together for a coffee this weekend. We exchanged numbers and she’s going to text me tomorrow. Tell me I’m not going to go crazy.”

 

“If I know anything about you, and I do, you are a hundred times braver than I am. You’ll be absolutely fine. Just use your patented ‘Rey death-stare’ and it’ll go over without a hitch.”

 

“Oh my god….”

  
Finn always new how to make Rey feel like a million bucks.  


	3. This isn't real

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jess and Rey have their first date and they are both so awkward it's adorable

Boston was unlike any other Northeastern city when summertime came.People seemed to instantly change their attitudes when the weather got warm. Jess wasn’t unlike the rest. While hockey season was always during the winter, that didn’t mean she had to like the weather season too. Jess had always been surrounded by sports and athletes. It’s where she felt most in her element. The constant anticipation, momentum swings, and the moments you never saw coming. She lived for them. Sort of like when you ask out this ridiculously cute girl from the coffee shop out of the blue…

Jess suggested they go out at the shop since she knows they both like it obviously. She spent the entire day figuring out what to wear. She didn’t have much in the way of “nice” clothes beyond work scrubs and assorted t-shirts and jeans. Well, she did have that sundress her mom got her for her cousin’s graduation last year. It wasn’t anything special, light blue with a sort of floral pattern? She did enjoy the compliments she got on it at the graduation so maybe it’ll work on Rey too?

 

* * *

 

Saturdays for Rey were always her lazy day. While she didn’t have as much of a rough time at work compared to Finn, it still wasn’t always a walk in the park and taking a day to just hang around and do nothing was nice. Adjusting her workout schedule to the changing of the seasons here took a bit of… getting use to, so to speak. She always preferred to run outside as opposed to using a treadmill. Growing up in Arizona, there really was never a need to go to the gym to run when the weather was always perfect. Boston, she learned quickly, was like living on another planet.

Getting her run out of the way after waking up, and narrowly avoiding that crazy dude on the bike with the bagpipes, Rey’s next stop was the comic shop. Not many releases came out this week besides Captain Marvel and Deadpool but it was still an exercise in getting her mind distracted from thinking about tomorrow. She was going to meet up with Jess at the coffee shop for breakfast. Or that’s what she was calling it to rationalize it so she wouldn’t psyche herself out too much. 

How could she not? This girl who she was practically a stranger to (even though she so wished not to be) asked her out on a date.    

 

* * *

 

 

The following morning arrived very quickly. Jess had suggested that they meet semi-early before the late morning rush came in so it would be a little less crazy. Rey woke up with this sense of nervous energy she couldn’t quite describe. She shot a few texts to Finn knowing he was three hours behind and undoubtedly not waking up soon since he actually had the day off. She was in this on her own.

The walk to the shop was nothing but anxiety. She got there ten minutes or so before Jess’ planned time and she wasn’t sure if she should go inside and order or wait outside for Jess. Luckily by some sort of miracle she got a text from Jess saying she was a few minutes away and there was no need to wait for her to order. Whew. Unsure as what to order in a situation like this, she figured she couldn’t go wrong with a simple iced coffee and a chocolate croissant. After getting her order, which was ready unusually fast even for the light crowd, she headed outside to grab one of the tables on the sidewalk to Jess would be able to notice her upon arriving. 

Only a minute or two later up came Jess. She was wearing this light blue sundress that flowed a bit in the breeze and Rey had to grip the table for a second to steel herself.  _ Oh my god. This isn’t real. _

Jess was about thirty seconds from the shop when she saw Rey. She was wearing a tan cardigan over a grey tank-top and a brown skirt. As she made her approach, Rey stood up and gave her a welcoming hug. Nothing extraordinary, just something to match the occasion.

“Have you been waiting long?” Jess asked a little worried after the hug.

“Oh no! I only got here about five minutes ago.”

“Okay good, I got stuck behind this old man trying to get out of my building this morning and he takes foooooorever to get down the stairs.”

Rey laughed out, “It’s okay! Go and order something.”

Taking notice of what she had ordered, as to not go overboard, and making a mental note that she wanted to hear Rey laugh like that 24/7/365, Jess went in and ordered an iced caramel latte and a coffee cake muffin. Jess fucking loved the muffins here. Best in the city.

Gathering her drink and pastry she headed back outside to the table Rey had claimed. It was starting to get warm out finally that the sun had broken through the morning clouds. Rey was waiting ever so patiently for her to return to start eating her croissant, by the looks of it, and Jess thought it was just the most adorable thing. 

“How’s your weekend been so far?”

“It’s been good! I just relaxed a bit, did some errands. Watched the Sox. How about you?” Jess went casually.

“Pretty much the same. Went running, went to the comic shop and then just watched Netflix the rest of the day. Usually my normal Saturday.” Rey laughed at the end trying to be a little self-deprecating.

There was that laugh again. Jess thought she was going to lose it.

“What’s it like moving all the way here from Arizona? I can’t imagine doing anything like that.”

“It was a little tough at the beginning and when I told my friends and family I was planning on doing it. It was an opportunity and point in my life where I would regret it if I didn’t.”

“That’s just... wow. I really admire that kind of strength and initiative.” 

“Th-thank you,” Rey said shyly as she bit her lip and begun to blush. 

Realizing this and not wanting things to take an awkward turn Jess acted quickly. “So, what else do you do when you’re not working?” 

“Unfortunately, not much. Just reading, watching TV, and working out. Most of the time that’s pretty much it.” Actually saying out loud gave Rey heartache. She missed her friends back home, especially Finn. 

Jess could see the sadness in Rey when she said this. She wanted desperately to change that. She didn’t like it and she imagined Rey definitely didn’t like it either. 

They sat and talked for what seemed like hours while finishing their drinks and pastries. It was almost effortless at how they seemed to be able to talk. Even if it was the usual “first-date-get-to-know-you” chatter, school stories, friend stories, likes and dislikes etc...

“This was a lot of fun!” Rey said as the two of them were getting up to head to the trash.   

“Yeah, it was.” Jess’ brain was working overdrive here. “So... my parents have season tickets to the Red Sox and I have a pair of them for the game next Saturday. Would you, uh, want to go with me?”

Rey was part shocked and part ecstatic. She had the biggest grin on her face. “That sounds awesome. I would love to!”

Jess felt like she was flying.

“Great! I can’t wait!” Is this what liking someone feels like?

“Well, my apartment is back this way.” Rey points down the street. 

“I’m down this way,” Jess says with a chuckle and points the opposite way. 

She leans in and gives Rey a peck on the cheek.

_ Oh my god.  _ She thinks to herself as she does it.

“I’ll text you later!” she manages out.

“Bye!”

And Rey is standing there blushing yet again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope your enjoying this series so far! Thanks for any and all comments and kudos!


	4. Work is Hard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jess and Rey both navigate work life while their crushes on each other keeeeep on getting stronger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to read tspofnutmeg's "Is it Really an Emerald City?" for the Poe/Finn tie in to this! http://archiveofourown.org/works/6946465/chapters/15841600

“Is it Friday yet, Snap?”

“Why would you ask me that? You damn well know what is happening here right now.”

“Shut up.” Jess punched him in the arm as she walked by him to one of the offices on their floor. 

Besides being extremely annoying most of the time, Snap Wexley was probably Jess’ best friend at work. Which was good since he seemed to be the only one that had the capacity to put up with her. He was tech for the CAT scans, MRI’s, and x-rays so they had a good working relationship since her patients normally needed one of those.  

“If you’re going to be like this for the rest of the week I do not want to have lunch with you,” he called to her as she headed off.

“I hate it when you’re right!” 

Jess thought to herself that she hadn’t talked with Poe in a while. They always tried to Skype at least once a week schedules permitting.

Jess: When are you working til today?

Poe: Probably around 2… Why?

Jess: Want to skype later? I need an update on your “mission”

Poe: I’m going to regret telling you that aren’t I?

Jess: You wouldn’t have been able to get away with not telling me anyway

Poe: Get back to work!

Jess: *winking emoji*

_ Back to work. Get your thoughts together, Jess.  _ She’d been in relationships and had crushes before in the past. Something about how things with Rey were… different. She couldn’t quite figure out exactly what it was though. Snap would be useless in trying to help as he was useless in pretty much everything besides operating things at work. Poe was much more suited for situations like this.  

Work was a good distraction. Snap provided the comedy as usual, at the expense of Kaydel, the pair’s other friend on the floor. 

“So what’s this I hear about you falling for this techie-transplant?” Kaydel was a transplant herself, came from Mississippi to go to medical school and got a job right after graduation. 

“Fucking hell… Snap!” Jess said dropping her head and shaking it. 

“What!? It’s not a lie!” 

“But you didn’t have to tell everybody!”

“Hey, you do the same to us. Remember that guy on the 4th floor that Kay liked?” Snap was good at this.

“Goddamn you...” Jess knew she lost on this one.

Finally getting home was a relief. Knowing that she could talk to Poe soon would give her some solace. Maybe his predicament could help her with her own? Booting up her laptop and bringing up Skype, she was startled to see Poe already online. Normally she always beats him to the punch.

“Mister antsy-pantsy over there now?”

“You’re the one who wanted to talk in the first place!!”

“Wouldn’t that make me more likely to be here first?” Jess said with her classic smirk.

“Don’t try to logic me, Testor.” Jess always knew she had him when he used her middle name. 

“Okay, okay. So what’s up with you? How’s your little excursion going?”

“You make it sound like it’s a life or death situation! It’s… going. I can’t make heads or tails of this guy.” 

“Well, what does he do? What’s his favorite band? Does he like sports? C’mon, you’ve done this before.” 

“Yeah I know. This is just different for some reason. Can’t put my finger on it.” Poe had a look of contemplation on his face. “So, what about your little “excursion”?” 

This was inevitable, as much as she wanted to talk about it, she was terrified at the same time.

“I think it’s good? I’ve never really felt like this before about someone. The first date went pretty great, we text a few times a day even Snap and Kay at work are getting on me about it.” 

“Do you talk about feelings and things yet?”

“No! Well.. we’re not at that point yet, just the usual “How’s your day going?” things like that.”

“Do you like her?”

“Y-yeah, yes.Goddamnit I really fucking like her. It feels so weird to admit it but yeah, it’s true.”

“Glad I could be of service.” There was the classic-Poe bravado she knew. “When are you seeing her again?”

“We’re going to the Red Sox game Friday night.”

“Oh god, please don’t say or do anything stupid.”

* * *

“Is it Friday yet, L’ulo?”

“Rey, goddamnit, why would you say that?”

“What?! It was just a question.” Rey knew what kind of question it implied, though.

“It’s Tuesday morning and this week is going to drag.” L’ulo was Rey’s often annoyed, but lovable manager. “We need to code those hundred syntax errors by Thursday or we won’t be having a weekend.”

“Well what are we waiting for?!? Let’s go! You know what I have on Friday!”    


Work deadlines always gave Rey a sense of purpose. Especially in this instance since she had somewhere very important to be on Friday night. Somewhere that may or may not include the biggest crush Rey has ever had in her life.

Tuesday went by surprisingly well, the team was able to get the majority of the errors coded which would give them a manageable amount to work on Wednesday and Thursday. That was until Wednesday afternoon when the ceiling came crashing down. Not literally but there was a systems crash and everything they had gotten done Tuesday would have to be done all over again.

Rey: This is fucked.

Finn: What is fucked?

Rey: Our system crashed and we have to go back and redo everything over from yesterday.

Finn: Oh jesus. That  _ is _ fucked.

Rey: Please tell me you have more pictures of BeBe or I’m going to lose my mind.

Finn: What kind of best-friend would I be if I didn’t? [picture of BeBe on one of the tables at Poe’s]

Rey: OH MY GOOOOOOOD

Finn: ;)

Rey: Skype later?

Finn: Sounds good, Peanut

Rey has always had crushes before. College seemed to provide an endless stream of cute girls but there was something different about Jess. Something almost inexplicable but Rey just couldn’t quite put her finger on it. Jess was smart and funny and kind and sweet and confident and pretty and her smile and, and, and…

_ You’re at work here, Rey. Calm it down a bit. _

Focusing back on the task at hand, Rey somehow managed to single-handedly recoup 90% of the lost work from Tuesday. Was it from the prospective talk with Finn later or thinking of not wanting to disappoint Jess for their date? Probably a healthy bit of both which was all she really needed in her life. Helping Finn out with his situation was a good way for her to talk about hers without sounding like the desperate one.

Luckily the rest of the day went without incident and the group should be back on track to get everything coded by the end of Thursday which meant for an easy Friday.  _ Thank God _ , she thought.

She stopped at the sushi place for dinner on the way home cause damn, if she didn’t deserve it. Finn wouldn’t be able to Skype until at least 10 eastern time so she figured she might watch the Red Sox game while waiting for him. She wanted to know what she was getting into for Friday night and hoo boy, do people take this team seriously. 

Right after 10 her laptop beeped and Finn was there in real-time, looking tired as hell with heavy lids.

“What’s up, peanut?” He still couldn’t help but smile at her, even though she knew he had another crap-tastic day at work.

“Do you know about the Red Sox?”

“Yeah... why?”

“I never realized how serious people took them around here but it’s like an extension of their family.”

“What about Jess? Does she follow them?”

Rey perked up when he mentioned Jess. “Yeah, her parents have season tickets so that’s where we’re going Friday.”

“That should be cool! You’ll be able to see her in her element.”

“That’s why I’m so fucking nervous!” 

“Rey, trust me. You’ll be fine, you’re gonna be more than fine. I know it.”

“Just wait until I’m melting into nothing but a puddle of feelings and it’s gonna be all your fault.”

“That’s why you love me though!” He always knew how to make anything serious feel like it was a walk in the park for her.

“So, what did Poe make you today? Is he making any progress?” 

“How do you know I went to Poe’s today?”

“Because I can just tell! Don’t think I’m not able to figure out when my best friend saw his crush!”

“You’re the worst. Have I told you that before?” he said shaking his head but still smiling a mile wide.

“Where else would you be without me?”

“Probably hanging out with my abhorrent co-workers so thank you for that. Isn’t it past your bedtime?”

“Isn’t past yooooooour... I got nothing. Yes, I’m going to bed. Good night, peanut.”

“Sweet dreams of Jess!!!”

Rey gave Finn one last glare as she turned the computer off. That jerk.


	5. You're the smart one

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> FIRST KISS FIRST KISS FIRST KISS

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the irregular updates. real life isn't as cool as Jess & Rey
> 
> Don't forget to check out tspofnutmeg's tie-in Stormpilot fic! http://archiveofourown.org/works/6946465/chapters/15841600

“What time do you want to meet tonight?”

“I should be out of work around 4 and I’ll go home to change so I’d be ready around 5? Would that be okay?”

“Yeah! We normally wrap up work around 4:30 to 5 on Friday’s so that works out great!” Rey was trying to hide the excitement in her voice and Jess didn’t seem to notice so that’s good.

It was finally Friday morning and Jess was taking Rey to the Red Sox game that night. The two met up at the coffee shop in the morning on the way to work. Jess tried her best to put on her game face while in line with Rey but it sort of just ended up being a crooked smile and heart eyes. This wouldn’t work.

“Is this okay to wear to the game?” Rey was wearing a light navy sweater with a plain white tee beneath and a pair of jeans.

_ Kriff _ , Jess thought.

“Yeah, that’s perfect. Towards the end of the game it’ll start to get a little chilly anyway.” 

“I’m excited! Who did you say they were playing again?”

“Oh, the Yankees. It’s not as much of a rivalry as it used to be but the stadium still has a different feel to it when they’re in town.”

Rey wasn’t a crazy big sports fan but she has been to enough games while back in Arizona through school trips and things to understand how some people can get heavily invested in them. The Coyotes can’t even begin to match what Jess has with the Bruins. She had quickly learned just how much of a hockey fan Jess was even down to working as an athletic trainer for the Harvard hockey team.  

Their orders came up and they were soon off in their separate directions. “I’ll text you when I’m out of work, okay?”

“I can’t wait!”  _ Why can’t I just kiss her already? “ _ See you tonight.”

Rey gave her a quick hug and then was gone.

* * *

“Snap, why did she look so good this morning?”

“You’re in so deep already.”

“Well, you know what she looks like! How couldn’t I be?!?”

“You’re going to the Sox tonight, right? Does she drink?”

“Yeah and I’m not too sure. She said she never partied a lot in school but didn’t make it sound like she’s never drank before. What are you implying?” She said that last bit with a raised eyebrow.

“Maybe some loose lips to sink some starships?”

Jess couldn’t roll her eyes any harder if she tried. “You goddamn nerd.”

* * *

“What’s going on with this piece of code?”

“I don’t know. No one has been able to figure it out all day.” L’ulo was at his desk when he called her over. “Wanna give it a crack?”

“Yeah, send it over.” Rey figured she could find the problem, she just needed to analyze it for a few minutes first. 

Rey was known as the “scavenger” around the office. Anytime someone had a particularly difficult problem to solve she was usually able to figure it out in no time. Most people were tipping her for a promotion pretty soon,

About five minutes later… “I got it!” 

“What? What was it?” 

“A couple syntax errors and some formatting issues.” 

L’ulo said dumbfounded: “I had three other people look at this!”

“Let’s just say I have some motivation to get out of here early,” she smirked at him,

“Date night?”

Smiling wide, “Yup!”

* * *

Jess got outta work and sped home on a mission. She wanted to make sure she was there first since Rey beat her last time. Changing out of scrubs and throwing on her old school Pedro Martinez jersey and jeans she busted out the door and down to the Green Line. It was only a few stops to Kenmore so she should make it there in time. The game was at 7, so they were gonna meet for dinner first. Jess suggested the Yardhouse. They have good food and a lot of beer selections for a good foray into drinking around Rey. She got there around 10 of 5 and grabbed a spot at the bar. Only a few minutes later her phone buzzed and Rey texted her that she was just down the street.  _ Whew. _

“Hey! Have you been waiting long?” Rey had that usual excitable-ness to her voice.

“Only a few minutes! Got lucky with these two seats here too.”

“Definitely. How was work?”

“Pretty good actually, nothing crazy happened so that was nice.” The bartender came over and took their orders before she could finish. “How was your work day?”

Rey responded with a playful joking, “more of the usual, finding fixes where other people can’t.”

“Must be stressful? Everyone always looking towards you for answers?”

“I guess it could be worse, what if I couldn’t help everyone out!”

_ Could she be anymore awesome? _

“Well I’m glad they have you!”  _Can you have me?_

Dinner and drinks went by quick. It’s only a minute to Fenway but Jess wanted to get in early enough to take Rey around inside. It was like a living museum after all.

“How long have you been coming to games here?”

“Probably since I was like 6 or so? I think I went to a few games before that but I don’t remember really. A lot of my summers growing up were spent coming here.”  

“That sounds like it was awesome! Most of our professional teams only came to Arizona recently.”

“I think you’ll like it here.” Jess meant that in more ways than one.

The game was a usual Red Sox vs. Yankees affair. AKA taking forever because they don’t know how to play the game at a normal speed. The pair alternated buying the other one a beer every time it was time for another round. Fenway beers are damn expensive. Neither was drunk-drunk but a enough of a buzz that the conversation flowed effortlessly. Mercifully the game came to an end almost three and a half hours later which Jess assured Rey was the norm with Sox-Yanks. 

“That was fun!” Rey yelped while they were heading down to the T stop after the game.

“Yeah, it was!” A good win doesn’t hurt too.” Somehow Rey got a hold of her hand and their fingers were intertwined. “T-t-thanks for coming.”

“Thank you for inviting me.” Rey had come back down to a normal register.

“I’m really glad you enjoyed it and we got to hang out again.”

“Me too.”

They were at the Green line where they would be splitting ways to get different trains.

_ Should I do something?  _ Jess had never been this struck with someone in her life.

Then, as if it was nothing, Rey stepped in close, still holding hands, and kissed her. Nothing dramatic or overly passionate, just... Lovingly. 

It seemed like hours when it was actually only ten seconds but Rey didn’t want to stop. 

“I’ve been waiting to do that all day.”

Pulling away so she could see Rey’s whole face, “You knew you were gonna do this when we met at the coffee shop this morning? What if I did it first?”

“Then I still got to kiss you, right?”

Jess couldn’t stop smiling. “I guess that’s why you’re the smart one at work.”

“Oh god. You're just going to be like Finn now.”

“I think I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“You should.”

This time Jess stepped in and gave Rey a kiss.

“Call me when you get home?”

“Of course.”

“Night.”   
“Night.”


	6. Can't Wait

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey freaks out. Jess freaks out. These dorks are so hopeless.

[Rey]: FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNN.

[Finn]: Oh god, what? Is everything okay? What happened?

[Rey]: I kissed Jess. I kissed her.

[Finn]: Wait, wait, wait….. WHAT?

[Rey]: I kissed her after the game. 

[Rey]: I didn’t know what to do. 

[Rey]: We were just standing there, holding hands and I kissed her.

[Rey]: WHAT DO I DO???

[Finn]: Well, okay, it’s not the end of the world. Do you like her?

[Rey]: Obviously.

[Finn]: Does she like you back?

[Rey]: Well, she kissed me back, so I’d assume so.

[Finn]: That’s a good sign. Have you talked to her about it?

[Rey]: Not yet. I wouldn’t even know where to begin.

[Finn]: Just tell her you like her, want to spend time with her, and make babies.

[Rey]: Har har! Very funny, but thanks. I can do this.

[Finn]: You can do this.

 

Rey wasn’t sure if she could do this. How could she even be expected to do this? Jess has only been a factor in her life for a few months. An adorable, funny, charming, smart, kind, thoughtful, lovely factor. How should she proceed? A big long-winded confession? Just blurt it out the next time she saw her? There were so many things that could go haywire. Jess could not feel the same way. Rey could come off too strong. Too desperate. That wasn’t the case at all. As far as she thought, right? 

Rey went to bed that night replaying the moment back in her mind. 

She was screwed.

 

Where could Jess begin? She had gone out with Rey to the game and had an amazing time. Just the two of them talking about each other and sharing stories, getting to know one another. Every time she was able to make Rey smile or laugh shot waves of happiness through her -- she wanted to be able to do that every single day. The game ended and they made their way to the subway to go home. Seemingly out of nowhere, Rey took hold of her hands, and proceeded to kiss her.  _ I’ve been waiting to do that all day,  _ was what she said. Holy crap. And then Jess went and kissed her back!  _ Where did you get the bright idea of that one, Pava.  _ They split after that and Rey called when she got home just as Jess had requested. 

_ What the fuck. _

So sure, did Jess like Rey? Obviously. Did she need to tell her sooner rather than later? Clearly. Did she think she had the guts to be able to do it? Hell-to-the-NO. Was she going to even if it killed her? Affirmative.

Getting to know Rey was one of the best things to happen to Jess in recent memory. Not that anything was by definition “bad,” this was just different. Never had she met someone that made her feel like this. Even her name -- Rey. As if she was a ray of sunshine. Just thinking of the girl caused her lips to part and form a big, toothy smile. She just layed in her bed, spread eagle and grinning at the ceiling like a madwoman, thinking about every little thing that happened that night. It wasn’t even that Rey was incredibly attractive. Jess figured she wasn’t  _ that  _ shallow. Rey was bright, genuine, strong, funny, honest, and just plain awesome. How in the world did Jess luck into this.

She fell asleep that night with the same smile plastered on her face.

 

The following morning arrived too quickly for Rey. She resolved that she was going to ask Jess out for real today. No second guessing. No deliberation. She couldn’t go on any longer just hoping that Jess would make the first move to confess. Taking a few moments to gather up her courage, she sent off a text asking if Jess wanted to get lunch, maybe at the coffeeshop, and then ran off to the shower so she wasn’t sitting and waiting for a reply. 

Jess was pulled out of her slumber with her phone going off on the table. Regrettably she decided to start her day and go see who was texting. She nearly dropped it right after reading the message that popped up. It was from Rey and she wanted to see if Jess was available to get lunch at the coffeeshop. Even as much as she wanted to see Rey again and tell her how she felt, it still felt like a plunge on a roller coaster the way her stomach jumped. She just stared at the text for what seemed like an hour and hastily managed to reply,  _ Sure. How about 1:00?  _ Not wanting to overthink anything she quickly jumped to take a shower, too. 

Subconsciously Rey heard the buzz of her phone in her room from the shower and nearly fell over as her legs shook for a few seconds. She proceeded to take her time and deliberately finish up before drying off and wrapping her hair up in a towel. She made her way into the bedroom with purpose and marched right over to the phone.There was just a single notification. A text from Jess.

 

[Jess]: Sure. How about 1:00?

 

The 30-second happy dance that followed would have been too embarrassing live down if anyone was there to witness it. This was good. Jess wanted to see her again. Rey could do this. She made sure to carefully watch her syntax in her reply back -- trying not to appear too overexcited. As if that was going to be an issue. She typed it out quickly and read it back about ten times to make sure it was perfect before hitting send.

Jess normally took long showers and this morning was certainly no exception. She was way too anxious to see what was waiting back for her on the phone. This was good though, right? No long, drawn out agony of waiting to tell Rey her feelings. She could let her know, with full confidence in how she felt, that Jess liked Rey and would like to be with her. As a girlfriend. So why was it still so scary? Sure, Rey could not feel the same way and say no but if the kiss meant anything, why would she say no? Her heart rattled in her chest as she composed herself to read what Rey had said. 

 

[Rey]: Sounds great. I’ll see you then! Can’t wait.

 

Can’t wait.

 

Can’t.

 

_ Wait. _

 

If her neighbors weren’t already use to weird yelling coming from her apartment they probably would’ve called the cops. Jess let out the biggest happy screech she might’ve ever had done before. She was going to have lunch with Rey and tell her just how much she liked her.

The two girls each got ready completely unaware what the other one was thinking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> apologies for the delay! This fic got lost in the shuffle for me but I'll try to update it more often! 
> 
> you can find me on tumblr [here](http://rex501st.tumblr.com)
> 
> thanks!


	7. Order for Rey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Confessions! aka these literal dorks confirm they're in love.

Jess’ walk to the coffee shop was the longest one she had ever had taken in her life. There were simultaneously too many people in the way and not enough. It didn’t take too long and she didn’t see Rey there yet. A quick look at her phone and it read 12:47.  _ Great, just more time stew on it.  _ Unsure if to send Rey a text or not since she was probably on her way but she needed that validation.

[Jess]: I’m here. I’ll be outside.

Now she could just wait.  _ Ugh. _

Rey lived farther away from the shop than Jess did so she tried to hurry there as fast as she could. Her pocket vibrated which usually meant a few things. A dumb promo email, a Twitter notification, or a text. She wasn’t sure which one she hoped to see, to be honest. Naturally it was a text from Jess. She was waiting for Rey at the shop. That only made her want to sprint there. So many different things and feelings were running through her head.  _ How should I tell her? Should it be after we eat? What do I do with my hands?  _ Rey just shook her head and pushed all the questions that were plaguing her aside. She liked this girl. Liked her alot. Seeing her smile made everything else just fall away. It was even better when Jess smiled from something she did.

Neither of the girls were dressed spectacularly fancy for the occasion but the prevailing wisdom was that the other would love the way each one looked regardless. Rey tried to not be as wishy-washy with her outfit choice as she sometimes was. Cardigan, jeans, and her brown “scavenger” boots as she liked to call them. They gave her a little boost in height which was good to make up the difference between her and Jess. Conversely Jess wore a flannel with jeans and some new Vans. She had an affinity for shoes. Something she picked up over the years. 

Rey hustled the rest of the way down the street to the shop where she saw Jess waiting outside and her heart nearly jumped out of her chest.  _ Calm down, girl.  _ She walked up to Jess and greeted her with a hug.  _ Too strong? Not strong enough?  _ “Hi. Sorry I couldn’t get here sooner.”

Jess accepted and reciprocated the hug in kind. She kinda was hoping for something more but that could just be chocked up to the strangeness of the situation. “It’s okay! I know you live farther from here than I do. I probably could’ve left my place a little later.  _ But I was just too excited to see you. _ ”

Jess reached out to open the door as a signal for Rey to go inside and she did with a smile. She made her way to the counter and turned to Jess, who followed closely behind. “What would you like?” 

“Uhmmm. A large mocha and cheese Danish?” She said it with an inflection like she was asking Rey if it was okay to get that.

“Got it. I’ll wait here. You can get a table for us if you want.”

“Rey… you don’t have to buy…”

Before she could even finish Rey cut her off. “Jess, it’s okay. It’s the least I can do for yesterday.”

“T-thank you. I’ll head over to the corner in the back.”

_ Smoooooth, Pava. _

Rey put in their order and went for the table Jess had claimed. She sunk down into the oversized chair and let out a pleasant sigh. “How was your morning?”

“Good. Pretty much just got ready, did some cleaning and then came here. You?”

There was that smile. The one that made Rey weak in the knees.  _ How can she be so cute without even realizing it. _

She chuckled to herself, “most of the same to be honest. I need to go to the grocery store but I was just feeling lazy. Kinda why I wanted to see if you wanted to get lunch.”

Jess looked down at her hands, not sure where her confidence had run off to. “Would you want to go after this? I-I’ll go with you.”

“That sounds great. It shouldn't take too long.”

It was now or never. 

“Rey… I need to-”

“ **Rey!** Order for  **Rey!** ”

At the exact same time the barista called her over. Jess was screaming internally.

“Hold that thought. I’ll be right back.”

Jess thought if Rey was as nervous as she was, she was doing a hell of a good job at hiding it. Truth is she was. Rey was trying to come off as cool and calm as possible but on her way to the counter her hands were shaking. Taking the chance to be away from Jess she allowed her breathing to even out and release the tension she didn’t know she was carrying.  _ This doesn’t need to be this difficult. _ She grabbed their drinks and food and steeled herself to go back to the table.

“Here you go. Looks good.”

“Thanks.”

As if she could sense what she was going to say earlier, Rey asked Jess to continue, “what were you going to say before?”

She took a sip before turning to look into the other girl’s eyes, “Rey, I really like you. So much.” It’s out of the bag now. “Wow. It felt so good to say that. I don’t know if it was last night that cemented it or just everything since we met, but I like you.”

Rey’s mouth just dropped open while taking in that moment. Whoa. That was… not quite how she expected it to go down.

“Oh god. Rey, please say something. You’re going to give me a heart attack.”

Had anyone ever felt this strongly about her before? Rey felt her cheeks begin to redden and small pricks of tears start to form in her eyes. “Jess… I… I... “ She sniffled a bit before continuing. “No one has ever said that to me like that before -- and I’ve never felt the same way back -- except with you.”

Jess couldn’t believe it. She puller her chair closer to give the girl a hug. “Rey, Rey, Rey, don’t cry! It’s okay!” She began to wipe the girl’s tears away before cradling both sides of her face. “I had a hunch you felt the same way but I needed to make proof positive.”

“Jess, I want to kiss you right now.” 

“I am quite alright with you doing that.”

In no time at all Rey closed the gap and met Jess’ lips with hers. It wasn’t much different than the one they shared after the game but this one felt heavier. Their hearts were in it for good.

“That was... nice.”

In an instant any tension between the two was gone. Rey reached over to grab one of Jess’ hands and squeezed it. She looked back and smiled Rey’s favorite smile. “Thank you.”

“Thank  _ you _ .” Jess punctuated it at the end. “Now I get to tell everyone I have the best girlfriend ever.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!! 
> 
> you can find me on tumblr [here](http://rex501st.tumblr.com)


	8. This must be it

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What is love?

“You seem a little more cheery than normal. Have a good weekend?” L’ulo tended to pick up on the little changes in his co workers dispositions quite easy. Whenever someone had something good, or bad, going on he was able to figure it out and use that to help guide their work. Truthfully it had been a really good weekend for Rey. Besides scoring some nice art commissions online, she and Jess finally got everything out in the open between them and they solidified their relationship status. She hadn’t told anyone yet but L’ulo of course had her figured out.

She turned away from her desk to face him as he made his rounds through the team. “Uhm, yeah. It was pretty good.” The smile she wore gave it away if he had any doubts.

“So you finally came to your senses with that girl?”

“Hey! She’s not just some ‘girl’!”  _ She would never be just another girl.  _ “We realized how we felt about each other and, I guess… we’re official now.” 

“That’s great, Rey! Really, I’m happy for you.” He came over to give her a quick pat on the shoulder. “You’ve been pining over her for a while now.”

She had to chuckle at that. “Was I that obvious?” 

“Maaaaaybe.” He was getting plenty of enjoyment out of this.

“Well… if you don’t mind, I have some work to do big guy.” She knew how to play him just as well as he could play her.

When he began to head off to other parts unknown of the office the realization dawned on her. He was the first person she told about Jess and her.  _ Oh god! How am I going to tell Finn! _

Not trying to have a meltdown at work she grabbed her phone to immediately text Jess. Jess was always more practical. 

[Rey]: I just told my boss about us. 

[Rey]: I can't believe I haven't told Finn yet. 

[Rey]: He’ll be so happy but he doesn't know you yet. 

[Rey]: He's know everyone I've been with in the past. I don’t know why I’m nervous.

Jess’ phone was on the table in the break room where she was sitting with Snap. It buzzed for nearly a minute straight from all the texts coming in. She took a few seconds to read it and felt her heart pound in her chest.  _ Oh, my girl.  _ She began typing back. 

[Jess]: Rey. It's okay. 

[Jess]: I’ve only told Snap so far and he just thinks I took too long to tell you how I feel.

[Jess]: We just started this. I haven’t told Poe yet either.

[Jess]: However you choose to tell Finn, he will be fine with it.

[Jess]: I love you.

“What’s wrong, Pava?” Snap was patiently waiting to continue their conversation before Jess broke off to pick up her phone.

“Huh? Oh, it was just Rey,” she said turning back towards him while putting the phone down. “She’s nervous about telling her best friend about our situation now.” Jess knew it was a silly thing to be nervous about. From what she’d learned about Finn through Rey was that he was unflinchingly loyal in their friendship and just as gay as she was. She was really looking forward to getting to meet him but Rey said he lived somewhere on the west coast. 

“Well, I think it’s pretty adorable how worried you are. I’ve never seen you like this before.”

“Shut up! I just don’t want to make a bad impression is all.” Jess could always count on Snap’s banter.

“You’ll be fine, trust me. When am  _ I  _ going to meet her, by the way?”

“Never.”

Snap put his hand over his heart and made the best mock offended face he could. Jess rolled her eyes before replying, “We’ll do something in a few weeks, kay?”

“Deal.”

 

Rey had a busy stretch for the next few hours at work so she wasn’t able to check her phone even though she knew about the texts from Jess. The work served as a nice distraction though which was beneficial. The feelings she had from earlier melted away as she solved problems and engaged in some casual office hi-jinks. The oldest member of their group, who they referred to as the ‘Jedi’, was a stickler about his desk and they rearranged it on him. Finally able to take a break she grabbed her phone and went to the kitchen to refill her water. She read through Jess’ texts one at a time feeling her stomach jump from the last one.

_ I love you. _

Whoa. That was big. Rey knew what love was. She loved her job. She loved her new city. She loved Finn. Did she love Jess? She was inexorably starting to feel that way. Everything the other girl seemed to do made her smile. The way she pursed her lips when thinking deeply about something. How she managed to have a perfect way to fix her hair. Even just how her eyes looked so warm while looking at Rey. This must be it. It has to be. She took her time to write out some replies back before heading to her desk.

[Rey]: Thank you. I needed that.

[Rey]: Work’s been busy so I couldn’t respond right away.

[Rey]: I’ll tell Finn this week. He’ll probably scream, haha.

[Rey]: I love you, too. Dinner?

That felt much better.

[Jess]: Of course. Miss you.

  
The rest of the day went by without a hitch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as always, thanks for reading, kudos, and comments!


End file.
